Английский язык / Learning English

English is my favourite subject at school. I know for sure, that it is a very important language.

English is spoken by more than a billion people around the world. It is spoken as a mother tungue in the UK, in former colonies such as Austrelia and New Zealand, and of course, in North America. It is the second or oficial language in most of the farmer Empire, for exemple, Ghana and Singapore. It is studied as a foreign language all over the world. It is a truly international language. And I would like to say some words about its development.

English is a member of a language family that include ancient languages like Antient Greek, to the Indo-European family. It began to develop in about A.D.450, when Anglo-Saxon invaders came from Germany. Before it the language spoken in England was a form of Celtic. After Anglo-Saxon occupation their language dominated. That`s why ild English sometimes called Anglo-Saxon. English was also affectied by the languages of over invaiders such as Vikings, Normans and many others. Many words was also borrowed from the Antient Greek. Some borrowed words came from Europe and such Asia languages as Arabic and Hindi.

Now I want to say some words about its spreding. English`s introduction to the New World in thq 17th centuary, then Pilgrim Fathers , escaping to the religious freedom, settled in Massachusetts. Many over migration followed. In 1770 James Cook sailed the Enveador into what is now called Qeensland, Austrelia. Later the first groupe of immigrants from England, mostly convicts. Arrived and set up the first colony. In India settlements first established in 1600 by the East India Company and by the end of 18th centuary it controlled most of commercial life. By that time India had become the keystone of the British Empire. And also by that time English were becoming an oficcial language in India. So you see how was English spreding all over the world.

But why is it so widly spread? Because of simplisity of the basic characteristics, such as simplicity of forms, flexibility and opennes vocabulary.As for simplisity of forms, Old English, like modern Russian, had many inflections to show tense, person, etc., but later they have been simplified. As a result of the loss if inflections, English has be ome a very flexible language. For exemple many noun and verbs have the same form (swim, drink, water, paper, etc). English afffected by many languages, as a result of it, English vocabulary is very rich and it is rather easy to learn it.

But all we know that there are British English and American English, and there are some differences between them. The main ones at the level of words and expressions. For example British English uses petrol, American English uses gas or gasoline. However there are also some structural differences. For example British English uses «Have you got…», American English uses «Do you have…». There are also a lot of differences in pronunciation and there are also numerous local dialects which developed in countries where English is spoken.

So we see that English has lots of advantages wich helps us ti learn it. There are many ways of learning English.

As for me, I learn it at school. I like English and I`m going ti master it well. Maybe I will enter some lingvistic university. I don`t like to become a foreign language teacher or translator, but I have some special reazons. I`m absolutly shure that nowadays every intelegent person should now at least one foreign language. Only if you know it you can make a good cariera and get a well-pay job. Besides, you need English if youlike to travel, because you should communicate with the people who lived in country which you visiting. Knowlege of English are very important in this feeld, because English is an international language which speaking all over the world. Speacing about special reazons I can`t but mantion reading, because I may need to read scientific literature in English and you can`t but agree that it`s a real pleasure to read English literature in original. From my point of view, the most important thing in language learning os every day practies. It helps us to develop our knowledge of English. Besides, we understand and speak better, improove our pronansiation and grammar, increase our vocabulary. I`m absolutly shure that the best way to learn English is to communicate with native-speakers, have strong motivation and work hard by yourself. As I already said, I learn English at school. I have six classes a week. We learn a lot of new words in class. It`s importante to inlarge our vocabulary to be able to communicate with each other, to understand better while hearing or reading. We also have some practiese in listning comprihantion. I try to do my best to pronounce the words corractly. We also learn grammar rules and translate texts from Russian into English and fron English into Russian. I try to revise grammar rules regulary and do various exisizes. I prefer to do them oraly because it is not take much time and helps me to improove my pronansiation. But I also prefer to understand the text while reading rather then to translate it. It is not very easy and sometimes I use a dictionary, but I don`t like to do it and prefer to guess the mearning of unknown word. Sometimes we asked questions on the texts or making dialogs or monologs on the topics which are stressed in this texts. I prefer dialogs to monologs, because among the dialog we can get a lot of information. But I don`t learn English only at school. Fortunatly. My parents know English and they can help me if I need. I also try to read in English as much as possible. TV, radio, video programms and Internet also helps me to learn English. I think that knowledge og our native language are very important to learn foreign language, because it`s well known that it is very usefull to compare languages. I think that my cultural and intellectual horizon wide since I began to study English. And I hope that good knowledge of this language will helps me in my future life. But how? Why so many people try to learn foreign languages?

There are many reasons to begin the study of a foreign language. One of the main reasons. As I said before, is to be able to communicate with other people who use this language. We may be planning to travel in contries where this language is spoken. If you are working in any branch of science you may need reading scientific books in other languages. I also think that for every specialist knowledge of foreign languages is absolutely necessary. For example, there are lots of professions, connectied with foreign languages. One of such professions is foreign language teacher. Teaching is a very difficult job with the great responsibility. It is impossible to be a good teacher if you don`t know your subject and the method of teaching very well. Besides, he should love his profession and his students. I tink that it is very important part of teaching. But there are many over professions dealing with foreifn languages. For example an interpreter. People of this profession interprets speaches at variouse forums, festivals, etc. They also takes foreign tourists on various excursions. I also want to say about the translators. They translates texts, literature and scientific works from various languages into others. Speaking about professions dealing with a foreign languages I can`t but mantion a diplomat. He states his own country abroad, that`s why he must have a good command of the principal language. There are lots of profession connectied with foreign languages, but I won`t mention all of them. A more general aim is to increase our cultural and intellectual horizon with the help of foreign contries peiple. Nowadays the interdialogue of cultures is very important and I`m absolutly sure, that it can`t develop without people who know foreign languages. I also want to say, that knowledge of foreign languages can help us to increases our knowledge of other subjec
ts. But learning foreign languages can also be the hobby. For example, there are people who know many languages, they are polyglots.There are also many other reasons for begining the study foreign languages. And I`m absolutly sure that English as a word language play a very important role in every feeld of world development.

So we see, that the knowledge of foreign languages, especialy of English, is very important nowadays. And I hope that the more and more people will become studing it.